kscans

Chapter 28 -

A Soft Spot in the Heart

"Ah... it's night already..."

Having returned home after a few days of business travel, I decided to spend my entire day off drinking and sleeping. I had just woken up and checked the clock—it was 7:30. Seems I managed to wake up before the promised time. I turned off the alarm I had set and headed to the bathroom. I took a shower to wash off the sweat and clean myself.

Feeling refreshed, I ate some sweet bread I had bought at the convenience store before coming home, just to fill my stomach a bit. As I was munching on the bread and watching TV, the intercom rang.

"Hey, Chika-san."
"Good evening. Did you just wake up?"
"Yeah, I was out cold until a little while ago."
"Good work on your business trip."
"Thanks. Come on in, come in."

I invited Chika-san into my home. Come to think of it, this is the first time I've had a woman other than professional ladies in my house. When I was living with my parents, female classmates would come over to play, but that hasn't happened since I became a working adult.

"Oh... It's surprisingly tidy. I hope it's not rude to say that."

Chika-san looked around the room curiously. Well, I understand that given my personality, it wouldn't be strange if it were messy. Actually, when I first started living alone, it was quite cluttered. So why did I develop the habit of tidying up? Well, hehe, you know? When you invite professionals over? I felt it would be inconsiderate to have them enter a dirty room.

(You might say, "Then just call them to a hotel," but I prefer to do it at home.)

I like the feeling of a moment of the extraordinary mixing into the completely ordinary environment of home. Well, I can't honestly tell Chika-san that.

"I'm not a kid forever, you know. I've grown up at least this much."
"Hmm?"

Her gaze was somewhat cool. She's seen through my lie, but probably doesn't know exactly what I'm lying about.

"Well, make yourself comfortable."
"Okay."

I seated Chika-san and prepared some tea. Well, by preparing, I mean just pouring tea from a bottle into a cup.

(But still... I'm nervous.)

I glanced at the living room from the kitchen. The fact that Chika-san is in my house. That reality makes my heart race. Looking at her cheerful profile, I feel like I might... might... stray from the right path... No, I mean, there's no moral issue anymore, but... It's just that Chika-san is special, and that's why I've become quite fixated...

"Here you go. You seem to be in a good mood."
"Thanks. Yeah, I feel kind of at ease here."
"At ease?"
"Well, this is where Hiro-kun lives, right? So maybe that's why. It feels like I'm surrounded by Hiro-kun's scent... hehe."
"Huh, body odor!? Do I really smell that much like an old man!?"

My excitement suddenly vanished. Smell... I've been avoiding thinking about it, but after my hair, it's the next thing I'm worried about.

"No, it's not like that. I take extra care, you know?"

When I take a bath, I wash carefully in risky places like behind my ears.

"But... it won't go away! From my pillow!!"

That old man smell! It won't disappear! Why... why is the smell I used to smell from my grandpa's pillow now coming from my pillow!? I cry softly. Right now, I'm deeply hurt.

"...Is that how you're going to take it?"

Huh... Oh, I see. That's what it was.
Seeing Chika-san's stone-faced expression, I realized I had misunderstood. It seems this was a roundabout way of flirting. It's like a misunderstanding straight out of a romantic comedy with a dense protagonist, but I don't think I'm at fault here. It's Chika-san's fault for treading into the sensitive territory of smell, which is something us older guys start to worry about. Well, that aside, even though I've realized it was flirting, I'll ignore it. It would be weird to get embarrassed about it now.

"Hey, I want you to be honest with me, don't hold back just because it's me."
"No, no, it's fine. There's nothing like that, really."
"Really? You're not lying?"
"...It's true, and is it really something to worry about that much?"
"For an old guy, it's a matter of life and death. Probably when I stop caring about this... there'll be no stopping the aging process."

I tremble in fear... What is this conversation? This is no time to be fooling around. I need to fulfill the purpose of inviting Chika-san over. Well, when I say 'invite,' I actually intended to go to Chika-san's house. I only accepted because Chika-san said she wanted to come to my place.

"Well, putting aside the sad issues, here, these are souvenirs."

I place three large paper bags on the table with a thud.

"...You bought quite a lot."
"Work went incredibly well, so my purse strings loosened up."

That aside...

"The one with the clown sticker is for Rika-chan. I bought weird stuff as requested."

And the other two are for the Saionji household rather than just for Chika-san. In Chika-san's case, she didn't specifically request anything unusual.

"Thank you. Then, this is for you in return."

Saying that, Chika-san produced something out of thin air with a thud! This is... beer. And foreign beer at that. England, Germany, America... there's quite a variety.

"A friend of mine went to a beer festival, it seems. I received these, but I thought it would be nice to drink them together with Hiro-kun."
"...Hehe, that's a welcome gift. Alright, let's open them right away."
"That's the spirit."

Some of these taste good at room temperature, and if we want cold ones, I can cool them with my abilities. I've developed several techniques for drinking delicious beer, so there's nothing to worry about.

"By the way, remember when we went to your place before, and we played that game about what Onisaki would be doing if he were alive?"
"Yeah, we did. Oh, this is delicious."
"I found out the answer."
"Pardon?"
"That guy became an okama."
"..."
"He was working as a mama at an okama bar in Fukuoka."
"...?"
"No, it's okay. I don't have a fever or anything."

Chika-san leans forward, placing her right hand on my forehead and her left hand on her own. Well, I understand. I get why she'd react like that. But it's the truth... And speaking of which, I can see her chest. Um, what's this? Blatant seduction is... well, it excites me when it's Chika-san. But this kind of unintentional sexiness is even more effective. Maybe it's because of the alcohol, but my excitement is getting out of control...!! The glimpse of her bra is irresistible!! Suppressing the scream in my heart, I show her my smartphone.

"Here's the proof."

The screen of my smartphone shows a photo of Onisaki. Chika-san stares at the phone as if trying to bore a hole through it.

"T-This is... certainly there's a resemblance... but still..."

The reality before her eyes seems hard to accept. Chika-san's expression keeps changing.
It's understandable. It's incomprehensible that a former arch-enemy is alive and has become an okama.

"It's not just that he's become an okama, but... why is he alive... It's strange, isn't it? It's impossible for him to be alive in that situation..."

Chika-san holds her head, groaning. It's a natural question. How could he survive in that situation? It really doesn't make sense.

"Ah, actually..."

When I explain how he survived,

"Is that even possible!?"

She laughs with exactly the same reaction as mine.